Reel World

By Devin D. O'Leary

Filmmaker Shoots Cop—On Thursday, March 3, the People Before Profit Film/Lecture series at the Albuquerque Peace & Justice Center will screen Every Mother's Son. This hard-hitting documentary looks at the increased use of aggressive and militarized tactics by U.S. police forces. The film recounts three cases of questionable killings by police officers, including the infamous case of Amadou Diallo in New York City. A speaker from Albuquerque Copwatch will be on hand to update viewers on a class action suit against the City of Albuquerque. The screening starts at 7 p.m. The Peace & Justice Center is located at 202 Harvard SE.

Dying on Stage—Camille Adair Norwick, a New Mexico hospice nurse, and Tanya Taylor, co-creator of The Cancer Monologue Project, have teamed up to create a documentary film focused on the stories and dying processes of six Santa Feans. Their film, The Soul of Dying, has begun filming in New Mexico and is a straightforward and honest attempt to document the process of death, a natural part of life that the filmmakers feel is either exploited or hidden away in our culture. A fundraiser for The Soul of Dying will be held at the Lensic Theatre on Friday, March 4, at 8 p.m. It will be a performance of original autobiographical monologues from caregivers of people who have died. Special music for the evening will be provided by composer/musician Donald Rubenstein. Rubenstein, who has composed five major film scores including George A. Romero's Martin, is composing original music for The Soul of Dying. The cost of this special one-night-only performance is $15. The Lensic is located at 211 W. San Francisco in Santa Fe.

The Passion 2: Electric Boogaloo—OK, so it's not exactly The Passion of the Christ, Part II, but Mel Gibson is releasing a new version of his evangelical record-smasher just in time for Easter. Seems that Mel had the divinely inspired (or was that monetarily inspired?) idea to release a “family friendly” version of the saintly snuff film. With a worldwide box office of $611.4 million, The Passion of the Christ is the top-grossing R-rated film of all time. With The Passion Recut, Gibson had hoped to create a version that “appealed to a broader audience without compromising the integrity of the original film.” After months of tinkering, Gibson shipped his new version off to the Motion Picture Association of America, in hopes of securing a PG-13 rating. Unfortunately, the MPAA was still just as traumatized as before and awarded the film another R rating. The film will now be released “unrated,” a maneuver usually reserved for smutty European art house offerings. The Passion Recut will hit 500-700 theaters nationwide on March 11.